The Best, Like NoOne Ever Was
by Omega-Saber
Summary: Ash is feeling down after another defeat and returns home to rest and recuperate. While there he thinks over all his past journeys and what he could have done differently. But this will lead him to a course of action that will throw him into his greatest adventure yet.
1. Prolouge

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the related places or characters. No profit is being made from this story.

It was a calm summer's night like so many others in the sleepy coastal town of Pallet. The sky was clear and the stars were twinkling up above, while the sea that was just visible from the rooftop of our young heroes house was so still it was hard to tell were the earth ended and the heavens began. Perched on the roof of a small house on the edge of Pallet town, a spot his sometimes smothering mother was none to happy that he frequented, was a young man of 16 years of age, with long unruly ebony hair and distinctive lightning bolt birth marks under his hazel eyes.

He could remember many nights like this both from his youth and on visits home between his never-ending journeys, were he had come to this same spot, whether to contemplate his dreams or just to get away from it all for a little while. He had seen many incredible things and experienced wonders that few could ever hope to see, yet this remained his favourite spot of all. If you just leaned forward a bit so that you couldn't see the roof beneath you, then it was so easy to imagine yourself soaring out towards that magical place just between the sky and sea called the horizon were anything was possible and dreams always come true.

The reason why this young man named Ash Ketchum chose to visit this spot tonight was to think over his recent loss in the Lily of the Valley conference to Tobias. The loss itself was weighing heavily on his mind, but that in of itself was something that he had learnt to deal with over the years as he had matured. What really was affecting him was the second Pokemon that Tobias had used against him, Latios, and the memories that it brought to mind. He had been able to control the onslaught of memories and emotions up till that point, but in the quiet of the night, in that place were his mind could wander, he thought back to the last time he had met a Latios. It is true that Ash Ketchum, Pokemon Master in the making as he is so fond of informing others, has had many great and wonderful adventures, but what doesn't occur to many when hearing these grand tales is what was lost in their making. Sure, they'll be sad when he tells them about the death of one of the fabled guardians of Altomare, and maybe even remember it as a reminder that not even Pokemon, with all the power they possess are invincible or immortal. But they will never truly understand the pain of looking into Latios' eyes as he flies off with his sister, knowing what he must give for both his city and his sister to survive, nor the agony of the cries of Latias when she realises her brother is gone for good.

And these memories bring on a deluge of others. The sorrow of seeing a tormented soul like Mewtwo force others to battle their fellows due to his own mistreatment and search for a purpose, an event that didn't remain as forgotten as would be wanted due to a trick of ancestry. Or the revulsion at the greed of one man who would endanger the whole world just to complete his 'collection'. The sheer disregard for life of people trying to flood the land filled with people and Pokemon or destroy the oceans which breath life into our planet. All these and so many more things flash through our heroes mind as he thinks over his short life thus far. And it is his reaction to these events that are a key factor in his being chosen yet again to play the hero in another epic struggle, as he has been chosen countless times before. And that is that he still keeps on hoping for a better world, keeps on believing the best of the world, and when it doesn't deliver, keeps striving to make it a better place, regardless of the cost to himself and his own flaws, of which he readily admits.

It is this, and many more things that our hero has been gifted with, that keep thrusting him back to the forefront of these historic as this young man was about to delve further into his memories he was interrupted by the arrival of one of his very best memories.

"Ash" called his mother Delia, as she crawled up on the roof beside him "what have I told you about how I feel when you go crawling up on the roof like this" she said with a slight glare that she was entirely to kind hearted to pull of properly.

"Sorry mom, I just needed a little fresh air to think, and I can always get away from distractions when I'm here."

Delia looked at him with sympathy, thinking that he must still be upset over his most recent loss. "I know it's tough to lose honey, but you just need to remember that you can only really fail when you don't even try. Anything else is just a lesson to be learnt on the road to success."

He smiled hearing his mom say this. It was advice like this that had always encouraged him to keep on reaching for his dreams, despite whatever others would say or do. "Thanks mom, but that's not the reason I needed to think, or at least not the whole reason."

"Well then whats bothering you Ashy, you know you can talk to me about anything. It's not girl troubles is it? Because you know if any girl ever hurts my little Ashy, you just tell me and I'll sort them out." she said while clenching her fist and getting a scary gleam in her eyes that only protective parents can quite manage.

This, of course, made Ash blush a deep crimson and moan "Moooooooomm"

Delia could only giggle at his reaction, knowing her son was no where near as dense in matters of the heart as most believed him to be, just very shy about how he showed it to the point of acting dense to hide his embarrassment.

Secretly, he wished it was something as ordinary as girl problems, the sort of things normal 16 year old guys worry about all the time. But although he loved his mother dearly and hated keeping anything from her, he knew he couldn't explain exactly what was bothering him. If his mother knew even half of the situations he found himself in she would chain him to his room and guard the house with a shotgun in case anyone tried to hurt her 'Ashy' again or in case he got any more crazy ideas about doing something like standing in front of a flock of rabid Spearows or throwing himself in-between rampaging legends, something he realised to his chagrin he had made a bit of a habit of.

The only reason he had managed to talk Professor Oak into not telling her of his adventures was the threat that he knew before Ash even started his journey that he would have to face off against a huge Celebi created plant monster all while fighting a wanted criminal and he didn't do anything to stop it. That alone was enough to stop him in his tracks, because although his mother was the sweetest women he had ever met, he pitied anyone who threatened her 'baby'.

"Nothing like that" he eventually said after getting his blush under control. "I was just thinking of all that I've done on my journey's. Looking back, I don't think I was really ready for most of what's happened, but I've always gotten through it somehow. I've been thinking about this for a while and I just wish there was something more I could do to try and prepare myself." He hoped that his mother didn't try and find out more about specifically what he wanted to be prepared for. He doubted she wold be thrilled with the answer 'Saving the world AGAIN'!

Delia sat there for while thinking over what her son had said. He was voicing some of the worries she herself had always had about his safety on his journey, as she was sure every parent worried about their child. Those worries were greatly reduced due to the fact Pokemon, wild or not, had zero tolerance for any 'inappropriate' behaviour towards children or even adults and if someone wanted proof of how lethal Pokemon attacks could be when they wanted you just had to look for someone who had done that sort of thing and actually made it to a court room alive after they were done with them.

She then thought of something she had recently heard Professor Oak talking about in passing. It was a rare occurrence, but apparently every so often a Champion, one of the elite four of a region or even a powerful gym leader would take on an apprentice that they thought was worthy to be taught everything they knew, and this included self defence and how to survive and look after yourself. Just thinking about it, that's how Wallace, the Hoenn Champion, learned a lot of his skills, by being the apprentice to the Water Master gym leader Juan. Prof. Oak was always strangely close lipped about her son's adventures when she asked, but what she had learnt was that Ash had met and befriended almost every regional Champion, including some former Champions, elite four and most of the gym leaders he had ever faced. Heck, he had been offered a position as a frontier brain in the Kanto battle frontier by it's creator Scott. If he put word out that he wanted to be apprenticed, she was sure he could find someone to take him on.

"Ash" she tentatively began. "I understand why you might be worried, and remember that I will always believe in you, but I've had some of those same worries. You were so young when you started your journey and you have no idea how many nights I sat up worrying about how you where and whether you were changing your 'you-know-whats' every day." At this Ash groaned and turned bright red again. "And then there was the fact that you had to keep up with all your classes while you were away. I know they wouldn't have let you keep on journeying if you didn't get at least 75% every year, and I'm so very proud of you for doing that and handling a Pokemon journey all at the same time, but it's a lot to handle for a young boy, and I want you to be able to enjoy your childhood while you have it."

At this point Ash was rather stunned. He knew his mother worried about him but he had never thought that it had affected her so much. On top of that this was the first time he and his mom had sat down and had a proper adult conversation. Shame at causing his mother so much heartache, and happiness at the fact that his mother was treating him like an adult overwhelmed him, so he engulfed his mother in the biggest hug he could.  
Delia for just a second didn't know how to react and then returned his hug full force. Ash may have been one of the most caring and considerate boys she knew but he was still a 16 year old boy and that meant he could show a certain awkwardness when showing affection, especially to his mother. She didn't know what precisely she had said that had caused this show of affection but she quietly reminded herself to work it out and do it a lot more often.

"I'm sorry I caused you so much worry mom. I was just so wrapped up in my journey that I never really thought you would be so upset."

This really touched Delia's heart and she was making sure to store this conversation away in her head as one of the best with her son, but she was quick to reassure him. "Oh Ash, it means so much to me that you would say that, but I would never stop your from following your dreams. Your determination and will to keep on going no matter what are part of what makes you who you are and I would never change that. I just want you to know that I love you and no matter how old you get or no matter what you do, you'll always be my baby boy, and it's my right as your mother to fuss a little bit."

Ash couldn't help but chuckle at this and said "I know mom, and I love you too. And I'll at leas TRY and stay out of trouble." For all the good that ever does me, he sardonically thought to himself.

"Now" she continued "before you so rudely interrupted me for that heart warming moment" she said with a mock glare while he chuckled away "I was going to suggest something that might help you with your problem."

At this Ash sat up straighter and listened intently.

"I overheard Prof. Oak talking the other day and he mentioned how sometimes a prominent trainer such as a gym leader or even a Champion will take on an apprentice. I know that you've met a lot of very powerful trainers during your journey and I thought that since you want to be more prepared for any situation, that you might ask one of them to take you on as their apprentice."

Ash couldn't believe this hadn't occurred to him before. He had even met Wallace, a Regional Champion, who had been apprenticed to another trainer and was all the more powerful for it. And his mom was right, thinking back he had made friends with a strangely large amount of powerful trainers over the course of his journey. He could think of quite a few that he would be honoured to be apprenticed to. And he knew that there was so much he could learn both about training and survival that it would take him much longer to learn on his own, if he could learn it at all. At this realisation he jumped up in the air and pumped his fist yelling a triumphant shout for finding a solution to his problem.

Only to give his mother a heart attack because, in his excitement as he was prone to do, he had forgotten something important. And that was that was A- he was on a roof and jumping about isn't very good for your health in that situation and B- it was about 1 in the morning by this point and yelling while you have a neighbour with a small child at this time was also not very good for your health.

His mother promptly grabbed him and forcibly sat him down again while clamping one of her hands over his mouth and giving him her best angry mom glare.

"Sorry about that mom" he said much more quietly while sporting an embarrassed grin. "Sorta got carried away there again. It's just that its a really good idea and I'm excited to get started on my journey towards being a Pokemon master again!" he declared while wearing his trademark smile.

Delia smiled at him, glad that she had managed to cheer him up, and started to get up to head back in again.

"I'm just glad I could help sweety. Now, I think it's time for us both to get in off this roof and get to bed before the neighbours call Officer Jenny on us."

He smiled a yes to her and started following, all the while thinking of this next adventure he was headed on. He was already thinking over who he would ask to take him on as an apprentice. He had met so many amazing people who could teach him so much. But as he got back to his room and climbed into his bed he thought more and more on one person in particular. Someone who would understand his want to use all his Pokemon, not just specialise in one type, someone who had seen him in action and understood part of what he had gone through. A person who inspires him and could teach him so much both academically, as a trainer and how to survive. But most importantly a person who could help him with one of his greatest secrets and fears. He had seen her Lucario, he knew what those baubles in her hair represented and knew with her understanding of history and myths that she could at least point him in the right direction on how to train his biggest secret. If only he could get over his fear of what it would mean to do that.

But, in his mind it was settled. In the morning he would pack his things, collect his Pokemon and hit the road again. He may have been there before but what awaited him there was unlike anything he had ever experienced before.

His last thought before he finally succumbed to sleep was simply "Look out Sinnoh, here I come!"


	2. Chapter 1

AN: I would just like to say thank you to everyone who followed, favourite, or reviewed this story. I will try and get into a pattern for writing new chapters so hopefully I can get this story updating regularly. I have uploaded an edited version of the first chapter to fix a few a mistakes, and if anyone would like to beta this story that would be much appreciated.

'djsj' - Thoughts, "djsj" - Speech

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the related places or characters. No profit is being made from this an island, isolated in the middle of the sea, far from the coast of any of the regions or even the smaller island chains of the world, there stood a castle, looking as if it wasn't so much constructed, as grown from the surrounding environment. This of course meant, because the surrounding environment was a harsh, storm swept and isolated place, that the castle reflected this.

If someone were to ever find themselves in this castle, a prospect that generations of its owners had worked ruthlessly to prevent, they would discover what it truly meant to be lost in a maze. Not just the common kind of maze that one might find made from hedges at an old manor house, where at best you can feel slightly lost for a time. But utterly without hope of ever finding your way unless you knew how to. This, as well as countless numbers of Pokemon that had been raised to be bloodthirsty, the guards of the castle itself which are some of the most feared warriors the world would never know about and an ever increasing number of deadly traps were all designed towards one purpose.  
Now 'normally', if such a word could be used to describe such a place, the purpose would be to protect what lay at the centre and keep the world away from it. This solely unique castle had the exact opposite purpose. It was designed to keep something contained, something so completely trapped that it could never darken the world again.

All this was the culmination of an ancient plan, laid down by a group of people who's sworn duty it was to protect the world, to the point of giving there lives to insure its safety. This plan had worked for thousands of years, twisted at times though it may have become, and insured that the world need never know such fear again.

But you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men...

Speaking of mice and men, a certain young man and his extraordinary mouse were just starting to wake to a new day filled with all the hopes, dreams and expectations of everyday life. The sun was shining, the local Dodrio was having its daily competition with itself to see which head could cry the loudest and longest, and as usually happened when he came home our hero had overslept. Again!

'Every single time' he was repeating in his head. 'It doesn't matter whether it's getting my first Pokemon, leaving on a journey or getting up early so I can get a journey planned out, when I sleep at home I always Oversleep'

He supposed he could blame it on the evil snooze button on his alarm clock, but he had hit that so many times over the years that it broke. He could blame it on being up late, but he had stayed up far later over the years after doing far more and still woken up at a civilised hour. A civilised hour being before before 11am, regardless of what his friends and family said to the contrary. But when he stayed at his home it happened "Every Single Time".

He blinked. He didn't think that was him saying that out loud, unless by a cruel twist of fate his voice was going backwards through puberty and getting higher again(Please no, he silently prayed, once was enough). It took him a second to decipher where it could come from until he slowly turned to the door to see his irritated mother standing there.

"I love having you back home again Ash, but it would be nice if for once you woke up before midday!"

Ash cringed, knowing it was one of his worse habits, that he had been sort of trying to get rid of(his bed was just so comfy!) and he regretted missing out on so much time with his mother when he so rarely got the chance.

"Sorry mom, I guess I can add getting up early to the list of things I need to be taught" he said rubbing the back of his head while silently hoping his chosen Master would be a late riser.

"Pika, pi - cha" Pikachu copied his partner while rubbing the back of is head with his paw.

That is until, it clicked in his head that Ash was talking about leaving on another journey today and this was the first he was hearing about it. He turned to Ash with a tick mark developing on his head and his cheeks starting to spark "Pikapiiiiiiii..."

Now, the bond between a good trainer and their Pokemon is a strong one, and when properly developed it lets trainer and Pokemon understand each other and what they are saying and mean without a lot of explanation. Ash Ketchum was undoubtably a good trainer. As such he fortunately didn't take long to figure out what was irritating Pikachu. Unfortunately, it still took him too long for the tastes of his Pokemon, already irritated as its nerves were by the 'infernal deafening device' as Pikachu referred to it as, going off for a straight 3 hours by that point. The result was a brief flash of light and a extra crispy Ash. And another broken alarm clock(a complete happy accident if anyone were to ask).

"Sorry buddy" Ash said " I only decided last night on what to do after talking with my mom. I was going to take you with me, and I am still going to talk it over with you and the rest of my Pokemon over at Oak's ranch."

Delia just shook her head at the antics of the pair, long used to them and turned to walk out the door while talking over her should "Well hurry up and get ready sweety. Ive made you an extra special breakfast to get you ready and then you can head on over to Prof. Oak's"

She barely had time to get out the door before a black and yellow blur flew by her and into the bathroom. 'ah to be young again' she thought while shaking her head and walking down the stairs.

Professor Oak, world renowned authority on all things Pokemon and retired Ace trainer, was just making his way into the kitchen of his house/lab to get himself his much needed midday coffee, his own blend that he had made from various beans he had discovered or found on his journeys when he was younger. 'Aaaaaah' he thought to himself while taking the first sip, 'half of the scientific discoveries in the world wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for this lovely brain juice helping scientists and researchers alike stay awake long past when they should and reviving them again in the morning'.

He was half way to composing an ode to the java bean when he was nearly given a heart attack by what sounded like a crazy person hammering on his door while he heard something suspiciously like an electrical discharge going on in the background and shouts of " Ha, I finally won one!".

'oh' he dryly thought ' so Ash is finally here'.

He made his way to door and opened it and got half way through saying Hello to Ash before he was rugby tackled by an overly affectionate pile of poisonous sludge that loved to hug called Muk.

After he had helped the Professor recover, Ash asked could they sit down for a bit because there were some things that he wanted to ask the Professor about.

"Well Prof." he started " I was talking to my mum last night and she said that she overheard you talking about strong trainers sometimes taking on apprentices that they think are worthy to learn from them. I've been training now for 6 years, and I know that I've been doing really well, but I think I'm ready for the next step on my journey to become a Pokemon Master, and I think the best way to do that would be to get someone to train me. What I wanted to know is, is there anything special that a potential Student needs to do to request becoming someones apprentice?"

Prof. Oak was shocked into silence for a moment. He had always known that Ash was an incredible trainer, and that he was nowhere near stupid, although his excitable personality sometimes made people think otherwise. The Professor knew that sometimes it was the people with no common sense or were really excitable that were the most brilliant. But he had never before heard Ash talk in such a mature and thought out manner.

"Well Ash, I'm glad to hear that your thinking of ways to improve yourself and your Pokemon. Their have been a lot of people who have gotten to the same point your at, a good trainer but not yet having won a regional championship, and then give up either not smart enough to know to ask for help or too stubborn to take it."

This made Ash's cheeks flush red, part out of pride for a man he considers a surrogate father calling him a good trainer, and part shame out of never winning a regional championship despite his other accomplishments.

"Your right that great trainers occasionally take on apprentices" he continued "but there isn't any set task that needs to be completed. Generally they look for good trainers in their own right, who have a strong connection to their Pokemon and great potential, but just need that last helping hand to become truly great. I'm very proud to say that I think you would fit that description Ash."

Again Ash's cheeks flushed with embarrassment and pride over the many compliments.

"Of course the greater the trainer that you want to be apprenticed to, the steeper the expectations they will have of you and from you. I wont lie to you Ash, if you get apprenticed to one of the greats, as I suspect is you plan, this will be one of the hardest, most gruelling experiences of your life. They will expect everything from you, but you will get so much more in return. It wont just be training your Pokemon either. They will train you for life and anything it could throw at you. As I said their is no set requirement for becoming an apprentice, but each Master will likely set their own task for you to complete, and the greater the trainer the more arduous the task. Otherwise they would have no end of apprentices, instead of maybe one or two in a career if they are lucky. If you can accept all this then I am behind you 100% of the way"

After this Ash was silent for a long time. That was a lot of information the Professor had dropped on him and he wanted to make sure he got it all stuck in his head. ' This could be my big chance' he thought to himself. 'I understand that this will be really, really hard but one thing I'm know for is my determination'

He was just about to blurt out his answer when he caught sight of Pikachu on is shoulder and remembered what had agitated his partner earlier.  
"I understand what you've told me Professor," he started "and I know it will be extremely hard. But not just for me. This will test all of my Pokemon to the limits and before I do anything I want t have a chance to talk this over with them if thats alright."

The professor couldn't help but smile with pride. After the unfortunate passing of Ash's father, he had started to see the boy as a surrogate son and it made him so proud to see Ash growing into a brilliant young man as well as a trainer. 'well done Ash.' he thought. 'your finally starting to grow up'.

The professor nodded his consent and Ash got up and headed for the ranch at the back. It was time he had a good talk with his Pokemon.

Bulbasaur was lying blissfully in the sun near his favourite Pecha Berry tree that had the jusiest fruit he had ever had. It had been a great day so far. Usually, as the unofficial peace keeper of Oak's ranch, he would have several problems to deal with on a daily basis. But not today. The fire types weren't fighting, for once, the water types hadn't gotten out of hand with their splashing and Ash's many Tauros weren't stampe...

'Spoke too soon' He thought to himself as he saw the herd rush past them in their usual hectic way. He had just stood up to go and round the up, Again!, when he was bawled by a stampede of every other Pokemon Ash owned rushing past him.

He regained his wits enough to shout after Glaile, the last in the group, what was going on and heard a distant cry of "Ash is here!". Very shortly Glaile was eating his dust as he shot past him as little more than a happy green blur.

At this point Ash had just gotten outside of the lab. He wondered where Pikachu was, as he had ran off as soon as he had said that he needed to talk to his Pokemon. He was looking around in all directions when suddenly he felt the earth begin to shake, heard a loud rumble and saw a huge dirt cloud start to rise over a nearby had seen this happen before and knew what it meant. He also now knew where Pikachu, traitor that he was, had run off to.

He had just enough time to brace himself and yell "I'll get you for this Pikachu!" before he was swarmed by his over excited Pokemon.

Eventually, after much hugging and getting crushed, Ash was able to breath enough to talk again." It's great to see you too guys. I'm glad too see that you all haven't forgotten me. Now, the reason why Im here today is to talk to you all about something very serious."

At that all his Pokemon sat still and listened intently, even Totodile sat relatively still, only tapping his foot to the rhythm that only he could hear.

Ash continued "Ive been a trainer now for 6 years, and I am so proud of each and every one of you. I know its been a while since some of you have travelled with me but remember that I always keep each and every one of you in my heart."

At this he had to take another break from speaking as again his Pokemon crushed with their hugs and deafened him with their cries. Eventually he was able to go on.

"Thanks guys. What I wanted to talk to you about is an idea of how we could all get stronger" all his Pokemon perked up at this. "You've all been amazing and Im thankful for everything you've done but I think its time for us to get some help for the next step in our journey." He knew he was laying it on thick, but he also knew his Pokemon had their pride, some more than others, and if he didn't say this right they could get upset, thinking he thought they weren't good enough which was never the case.

"What I mean is that there are some things we need to learn that need to be taught to us, and part of being a good trainer, or even a good Pokemon, is knowing when to ask for the help you need. To do this I think it would be good for us if I became the apprentice of another trainer. This would mean asking someone older, more experienced and more knowledgable than us to train us in what they know. And I mean 'US'. I would be learning right beside you all. But before We do this I want to ask all your opinions. So what do you guys say, are you with me."

At this Ash looked up, having hidden his face under his cap while he made his speech. He hoped his partners would be with him but he would understand if they didn't want this.

His Pokemon showed no such hesitation. They had experienced Ash set aside his own well being multiple times for their happiness and peace of mind and he had always stood by them. He repeatedly threw himself in hams way, bot just for them but for the whole world. If this is where he was headed then they were with him 100%. they showed this by all roaring their acceptance while some launched their attacks into the air in excitement over the prospect of getting stronger.

Ash couldn't help but laugh as his face broke into a huge grin at the support of his Pokemon. "Thanks guys" he said " You're the best!" He then sent them all off to relax for a while, as he headed back to the lab to tell the Professor his decision.

The Professor was sitting at his computer working away at something when Ash came back in. Hearing the door opening he turned around to give Ash his attention.

"Ive made my decision Professor" Ash said.

This earned him an inquisitive look from him.

"Ive decided that I want to try for an apprenticeship"

"Wonderful my boy," the professor said "So who did you have in mind? The best way I think you could go about this is if you tell me who it is and I'll try and set up an meeting between the too of you to discuss it. Its the least I could do to help you on your way."

Ash smiled his thanks to the Professor and thought on the question for just a moment, though he had already made his decision.

"Professor if you could, I'd like you to contact the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia!"

AN. Well thats that. I hope to try and update fortnightly if I can and aim for a minimum of 2000 words per chapter, though it may run longer than that. Thanks again for all your input and feel free to review or even PM me if you have any questions. Again if anyone would like to beta. It would be a great help. Goodbye till next time and God Bless.


	3. Chapter 2

A.N - I would like to apologise for the very long delay to the story, especially to those who were nice enough to PM me and ask after it, but as often happens real life jumped me and forced me to pay full attention to it for a while. I'm still relatively busy so any regular update schedule is out the window, but I be will continuing this story, even if it takes me forever. Thanks to anyone who is still following this, so finally, on with the show!

'djsj' - Thoughts, "djsj" - Speech

This Story is un-bata'd so please excuse mistakes

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the related places or characters. No profit is being made from this story.

-line break-

Sinnoh Region - 9:55pm - En-Route to Sunnyshore City

A pitch black, military grade, high-end jeep flew down a dusty, little used road on the way to Sunnyshore city. The car was moving so fast it was generating a dust cloud that could be seen for miles in the air behind it. It's driver, a blonde haired trainer that anyone even slightly interested in following the league would recognise, had her foot to the floor and kept throwing worried glances in the direction of her rear view mirror.

'I have to hurry' she thought. 'Theres not much time left, and if she didn't get there in time she didn't know what would happen'. She cast another quick glance at the rear view mirror and mentally willed her car to go faster. She wished she could just jump on her Garchomp's back and get there at the ultra high speeds it was known to travel at, but unfortunately due to circumstances beyond her control, that wasn't an option right now. She was just beginning to think she wouldn't make it when she crested a final hill and spread out below her was the majestic Sunnyshore City.

Reinvigorated by her goal being in sight, she sped down the hill at top speed, startling Pokemon and humans alike who were just settling down for a good nights sleep, or in some cases just waking up. She blurred past the buildings at the edge of the city, navigating her way to her objective and still keeping a careful watch over her rear view mirror. Finally she saw her goal in the distance, but made no sign of slowing down.

With just enough tome left she slammed on the brakes and put the jeep into a skid heading sideways for the pavement where she needed to get to. Any bystanders all stared first in awe at this example of stunt driving, then in horror because it looked like the car wouldn't stop in time before it crushed the occupants of the pavement. Everyone started running and diving out of the way, and the lone man behind a stall, right in the cars path, ducked behind his stand in the hopes he would be safe. Just as he was mentally reviewing whether he had his will in order, he heard a final screech and a thump as if something had just nudged against the curb. He let out a sigh of relief and dared to peek over the counter, yet was shockingly unsurprised at what he found.

"Really Cynthia," he started "I know you love my ice-cream, and the sign says I close at 10:00pm, but you've done this every friday for the last month, so I don't mind staying open a few extra minutes. Especially if it avoids any more attempts of you giving me a heart attack" he said, while giving Cynthia his sternest glare.

Cynthia, for her part, had the good sense to look sheepish as she awkwardly laughed and rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry Tony" she said, while silently doing a victory dance in her head when, she snuck a glance at the tiny digital clock embedded in her rear view mirror and saw the time still sitting at 9:59. 'Hah' she thought. 'Made it again'.

"Its just that your ice-cream is the nicest I've ever found and theres nothing better after a week stuck at a dig site than a great ice cream" she laughed, hoping the flattery would work and she could still claim her precious... Ok maybe now she understood a little bit better why her garchomp had refused to give her a lift on the grounds that, if she was translating correctly, she was really 'creepy' when obsessed with reaching her favourite frozen treat.

Tony, the now identified ice-cream salesman, sighed in defeat, knowing the Sinnoh champion wouldn't be changing any time soon and that everyone was entitled to their own little quirks. " Well I suppose I can let it slide this one last time. But next time, just take it slowly." 'Yeah, right, cause' thats gonna happen' he thought sarcastically.

"So, what flavour of ice-cream can I get for our fine champion tonight, hmm?"

20 minutes, and one finally selected ice cream cone later, he finally had the chance to pack up and go home.

- line break-

As Cynthia walked along the beachfront, ice cream in hand, she took a moment to finally unwind from the stressful week she had had. She was currently working on excavating some ruins not far from Sunnyshore City that had initially looked like a promising link in her studies in the origin of Pokemon, but so far all the had found was yet another seemingly obliterated town, with surprisingly no evidence of their ever having been Pokemon there. Ruins like those, while probably a shock to anyone not involved in archaeology, could be found all over the world and continued to baffle her. They seemed to pre-date even ancient civilisations such as Pokeatlantis, and yet in some ways where more advanced than current cities and towns. It was this mystery, coupled with her awe of legendary Pokemon and their legends, that drove her to try and find the truth buried in history.

She was just appreciating the great view, when her custom champions Poketch (being the champion does have it perks, she thought) started beeping away at her that she had an incoming call. Wondering who would be calling her at this time of the day, as well as who actually had her number, she pressed the flashing answer icon and the watch started to project a holographic video screen in front of her. After just a few moments she was surprised the see the gray haired head of arguably the greatest Pokemon professor of her time, Professor Oak, appear on her screen.

" Ah Cynthia" he started "it's been a long time. How have you been?"  
After getting over her shock she quickly schooled her features into a professional mask, hoping she didn't have any ice-cream smeared on her face.

"Professor Oak, this is certainly a surprise. I've been well thank you, how have you been Professor? I hope theres nothing wrong, we usually don't get the chance to talk unless the world is ending" she nervously chuckled at her half-joke, knowing it to be disturbingly true and hoping this was just a social call.

" Oh I'm great thanks, and nothing to worry about, this thankfully isn't another call for help preventing doomsday" She couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped her then.

"Well, not that it isn't great to hear from you professor, but what exactly was it you were calling me for?" She asked curiously. Despite being a well know champion and expert archaeologist, there was very little she could help the Professor with that he probably couldn't accomplish on his own.

" Oh, I almost forgot why I was calling there" she heard a suspiciously familiar voice shouting in indignation in the background."Yes, yes I'm getting to it don't rush me!" He shouted to someone out of her view.

"Well where was I" he started again " ah yes, I was actually calling you to make a rather large and important request from you, though you are entirely free to refuse it if you wish"

This of course had her attention completely focusing on the Professor again. It wasn't often he ever had to ask anyone for anything, and he was secretly one of her favourite Professor's, her loving both his research and his poems, not that she would ever let that slip to Professor Rowan. " What can I help with Professor, I'll try my best to see if I can help"

"Well, what I have to request is not a small thing, and its a request I'm relaying from someone else. To get to the point, I assume you familiar with the system of established elite trainer taking on apprentices?"

At this the smile dropped from her face. Professor Oak wasn't the first the come to her about this. She had been Champion for 3 years now, one of the youngest ever at the age of 19, and more and more often people were suggesting that she take on an apprentice. It wasn't that she disliked the system, she herself had technically been apprenticed to several elites and gym leaders before becoming Champion. It was a well respected system, one she knew her fellow Champions, especially Lance and the blackthorn family of dragon tamers, took very seriously.

No, her problem stemmed from finding someone she thought worthy to be an apprentice. She didn't want to seem conceited, but she was the top ranked champion out of all the five main regions of the world that were currently part of the league. Their had been plenty of people who wanted to be her apprentice, though very few who actually wanted to learn instead of just receive the prestige that would come from being mentored by her. She had been sorely tempted to sick her garchomp on several of the stuck up idiots that had all but demanded that she have the 'privilege' of being their teacher. On top of that, the few who she could actually tolerate were no where near the level she would want them to be at and, she was sad to say, just didn't have the potential for it to be worth it.

What she was really surprised at was that it was Professor Oak asking. He was a Champion himself long ago and understood the annoyance of constantly being pestered to teach arrogant fools everything he knew just for the asking.

Seeing the shift in her emotions, Professor Oak was fast to continue. "Now, I know that you probably haven't had the best experience with possible apprentices given what Ive heard and what I remember from my own time as a Champion. But rest assured I' m not just doing this on a whim or as a favour to a friend, though he is an old friend of both of us. I think you should at least hear who I have in mind before making any judgements, and remember that you can always refuse and that the requirements they have to meet are entirely up to you."  
Cynthia's cheeks reddened slightly partly in embarrassment and partly in annoyance over being read so easily. She put considerable effort into perfecting her professional mask, though she supposed Oak had experience in seeing through those.

Finally she relented "Ok Professor, seeing as its you who is asking I promise to keep an open mind on the matter, though I warn you that my requirements are extremely high. I'm curious though what you mean when you say whoever this is is an old friend of both of us. Who is it that you are representing?"

At this a sly smirk appeared on the Professors face. He started speaking while reaching beyond where she could see for something. He then abruptly continued while pulling a young man and his trusty mouse into her view. "Why, the possible apprentice I have for you is this young man here, Ash Ketchum! I'm sure you remember him from that little escapade with the legendaries and Team Galactic?"

For a moment Cynthia was shocked into silence. The Professor certainly had a skill for understatement when he called that event a 'little escapade'. At the same time Cynthia was very pleased to see Ash again. He had saved her life, and technically the whole world, when they had met and done what many people with far more years and experience than him had attempted before him, in destroying Team Galactic. And if even half of the rumours she heard about this particular trainer where true, then that had been a slow day for him. She really had been meaning to call up the file that the g-men and Pokemon rangers had been gathering on him for a read. Apparently he got involved in so many events and adventures, either minor or world altering, that they decided they needed an in-depth report on what he had been up to during his journey. She'd heard rumours that currently it filled up an entire bookshelf and he was only 16!

She quickly recovered herself though and again schooled her features. Regardless of how much she liked the boy and had secretly started to view him like a little brother she never had, she had standards to maintain and she couldn't be seen to be playing favourites.

She looked Ash square in the eye and started to glare a bit to she if she could read him.

Ash, for his part was staring to sweat a bit. The conversation so far hadn't exactly been encouraging, even if he technically wasn't meant to be listening in, and he was caught by surprise when the Professor had reached around the doorframe he'd been casually and completely innocently pressing his ear against and yanked him into view. And now Cynthia was glaring at him as if she was trying to set him on fire by thought alone. He tried to remember if he had done anything to offend the Sinnoh champion but he was drawing a blank.

Cynthia continued to glare wordlessly for a good few minutes when her composure snapped and she broke into a grin. "Hi Ash," she said " how have you been?"

If it was an anime Ash would undoubtably have sweat dropped at this abrupt change in personality. As it was he tried to take it all in stride and simply answered " Ive been good Cynthia, thanks, how have you been?"

"Great thanks" she replied "now onto business." At this she again morphed into her professional mode. " As I understand it, you are requesting to become my apprentice, is that correct?" She asked while cocking one eyebrow.

Ash took this as his queue to act serious and responded formally as Professor Oak had told him to. He did a formal bow and then began " Yes, I, Aston Satoshi Ketchum, would like to formally request from you, the honourable Sinnoh Champion, that you would take me on as your apprentice, to learn all that you would teach me about Pokemon, and about life" at this he did another formal bow and tried hard to school his face into a neutral look as the professor had instructed.

Cynthia's reaction was to blink a few times and then, to his chagrin, to burst into laughter, at the same time as he heard Professor Oak burst out laughing as well.

"Oh Ash" she said when she eventually could breath again " I needed that thanks."  
She continued on with small chuckles for a while as Ash turned increasingly red in embarrassment.

She decided to take pity on him at this and continue on. "I'm going to assume that it was the Professor who put you up to that very good re-enactment of what would have been used several hundred years ago?" Again Ash turned a further shade of red in embarrassment.

"But seriously, you understand what it means to ask this don't you? I assume the Professor explained what becoming an apprentice would entail?"

Ash nodded at this "Yes, when he wasn't busy trying to pull a prank on me he explained everything. I understand that this is a very big thing that I am asking and it is by no means something to be taken lightly. I have thought hard about this and I believe that the best and only way for me to move forward is to learn from an elite, and you are the best I could think of. I promise that if you agree to take me on as your apprentice, that I and my Pokemon will give our all to everything you put in front of us and that I wont disappoint you."

Cynthia was touched at this display of maturity from Ash. She knew he was usually very excitable and seemed happy-go-lucky to most people, so it was a good sign that he had thoroughly thought this through. And she had to admit she was a little flattered that he thought she was the best with the amount of elites and champions that he had met and befriended in his travels. If it were anyone else asking she likely would have said no, but with Ash she thought she may just have found her first apprentice.

That didn't mean of course that he would get this easily. She looked him over one more time and then came to her decision

"Well Ash, I can see that this is something that you have thought hard about, and I'm glad you consider me a good candidate as your teacher. Usually I don't even consider taking an apprentice but I think I'll give you the chance to prove yourself. I will warn you, not only will the training be harder than anything you have ever done" ('at this point she privately set a challenge for herself to somehow concoct a training regime that was harder than repeatedly saving the world') " but the tasks required to become my apprentice will be no easy feat either. If you are prepared to accept this then I think we can work together."

Ash's grin almost couldn't be contained on his face at this answer but he still managed to somehow answer without, to his pride, squealing like a little girl. " I accept Cynthia and I promise you won't be disappointed. I'm ready to do whatever needs to be done."

Cynthia got a very scary smile on her face at that and said " Well see Ash, well see. I'll send the Professor a list of what you need to accomplish and I look forward to seeing the results. Expect the list to arrive with a package in the next few days. I look forward to hearing from you again Ash."

Ash tried to ignore the feeling of dread that her smile settled in his stomach and plastered a smile on his face as he answered "I look forward to getting the list and getting started. I'll talk to you later Cynthia and again, thank you very much for the opportunity. Bye!"

"Goodbye" she responded, and then she heard what sounded like Ash counting down from 5, the Professor starting to make a run for it and his Pikachu starting to build up for a powerful electric attack. The connection cut with her chuckles and a brief flash of almost blinding yellow light along with the Professors dramatic cries of " What a world!"

She quickly finished her ice-cream, that remarkably had not yet melted and headed back towards her car. She was re-energised now with excitement, and she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep for several hours. But that, she thought with a devious chuckle, would give her time to come up with what she deemed, an 'appropriate' list of tasks both to judge if he was worthy as her apprentice and that fit with who he was. To do that, she supposed, she had better get started on that bookcase sized report straight away.

-line break-

Well here it finally is. I know there wasn't much action here but this was a necessary chapter to get the story moving and ill admit i had fun writing it. The next chapter will be about the tasks and the preparations for the first of the two big arcs that will make up this story, the first being Ash's apprenticeship. Again I want to give a special thanks to all those who have stuck with this story despite my slow progress. I know I probably shouldn't, given how long its taken to update this, but ill also be posting a second story shortly that will be a highlander/sword art online crossover, something i don't think anyone else has done yet. Anyway feel free to read it or not and any reviews for this story are much appreciated. Goodbye till next time and God Bless


	4. Chapter 3

'djsj' - Thoughts, "djsj" - Speech

This Story is un-bata'd so please excuse mistakes. Also, And I probably should have put this in earlier chapters, SPOILER ALERT!, for most of the Pokemon films.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the related places or characters. No profit is being made from this story.

-line break-

Sitting at her desk, scanning through the files she had received from her sources, Cynthia was both impressed and disappointed.

Impressed, firstly because of the content of the files themselves, each telling the story of an extraordinary young man who was willing to put the needs and the desires of others, be they Pokemon or human, before his own. Secondly because of the sheer breadth of the file. She knew that the g-men and Pokemon Rangers were interested in Ash and his story but the lengths they had gone to and the data they had uncovered was staggering.

But on the same topic it was also disappointing. Despite the obvious effort put into it, their were clear gaps where nothing was known. This in itself staggered her, knowing that what she had read didn't even begin to cover what the young hero had went through. It seems she had been right when she thought he had dealt with the likes of the Team Galactic incident, as it was coming to be known, before. What she hadn't known and to a large extent still didn't was how often he had dealt with such things. She had a sneaky suspicion that the only person who could ever really give a full account was Ash himself.

For example, discarding the Team Galactic incident, she had 3 instances where she was relatively certain he had been involved. The first was probably the sketchiest, and she hoped it was the first. It had been that incident 5 years ago in the orange islands, when she had been in Unova training at the dragons village. Despite the fact that their was both a news crew present, and the esteemed Professor Oak being on-site, most of the details were still sketchy at best. What was known was that the legendary kanto birds, alongside Lugia, had fought and the result was the underwater currents that control the worlds climate being thrown into disarray.(at least we know we'll have some common ground to talk about with the further away regions once they open their doors again). This, as well as the involvement of an eccentric billionaire by the name of Lawrence the third, all culminated somehow in Ash saving the world. It wasn't known how he did it, or even why he was specifically targeted(the shamouti islanders are especially protective of the relics on their home that could probably answer some questions, from what they see as mainland meddlers after their encounter with Lawrence) but the upshot of it all was that Ash gained membership into the highly exclusive club of World savers.

Next was that incident about a year later in Altomare. The incident in itself was no where near the scale of the shamouti island incident, but the news that a legendary Pokemon had died was just as earth shaking. Researchers had studied, or at least tried to study, legendary Pokemon and until that event the research world was still split 50/50 on the issue of whether legendaries were immortal or whether they were just very tough and long lived. Ash's name was thankfully kept out of most reports of the incident, else he would have been continuously hounded by researchers, as well as most likely some of the more lethal cells of Team Rocket. She, and by extension the 'Ketchum Files', as her contact had referred to them when she had requested them, only knew of Ash's involvement due to the confidential report on the interrogation by the International Police that they had donated to his files. Very few actually knew that it was because of Ash that it was only one legendary that had died instead of two, not to mention stopping Altomare becoming a new and impenetrable headquarters for Team Rocket.

Finally, and the most extensive file that existed on any of Ash's adventures, was the one given by the Pokemon Ranger organisation on the Sea Temple incident. It was after reading this report that Cynthia decided that despite what some think, Ash was the most humble person she had ever heard of. She had been slightly confused when she had finished the Shamouti file why someone like Ash who, reportedly a lot more in his younger years, liked to proclaim himself as the best (though in his newly emerging maturity he may temporarily concede to being the 'best in the making') would not boast of a title such as the 'Chosen One'. She supposed it may have been due to the belief that no-one would believe him, as the exact details of how and why he received the title were sketchy at best due to the islanders paranoia and his own tight lips, or even the result of some trauma from the incident. That could be a perfectly normal and reasonable(as much as such words apply to that type of situation) reaction. But when he technically had the right to claim the title King of the Sea, she began to see that despite appearances, Ash wasn't big headed and he didn't just want attention, at least not anymore, he just genuinely and whole-heartedly believed that he and his Pokemon had it in them to be the very best there ever was. This didn't mean he degraded others to make himself seem superior, as the arrogant so often do, but that he recognised and appreciated strength in others, simply believing that he was capable of eventually surpassing them.

All of these reports and all she had personally learnt about Ash through meeting and getting to know him led to two conclusions. Firstly that she felt both honoured and very excited that Ash wanted her to teach him, and she would do her very best to push him to his limits and beyond them to prepare him for whatever else the world had to throw his way. And secondly, she thought with an evil smirk, was that Ash Ketchum, world saver and exceptional Pokemon trainer, wouldn't know what hit him once she got through with him.

-line break-

Samuel Oak, world renowned Researcher and trainer, the man who could sit patiently for days on end in a hide, barely moving, just to glimpse that one event that was crucial to his research, was about two seconds from throttling the young man named Ash Ketchum.

Oh he loved the boy like a son, and held a unique friendship with him that ,due to the use of time travel, stretched right from his own childhood and his original Pokemon journey, all the way to the current day while he was still a good 40 years his senior. He had witnessed the boy save the world with the help of some legendaries, and the only one who knew more on what all had happened during Ash's adventures than he did was Ash himself, due to the complete coincidence of all of Ash's pokedex's having an advanced recording system that fed directly and only to a computer stored in his vault(he really should get around to mentioning that little fact to Ash one of these days).

But for all the good things he could say about the boy, an abundance of patience and the ability to sit still were not among them. It was a certified fact that Ash Ketchum had a horribly bad case of both borderline hyperactivity and wanderlust. This meant that what was now the fourth day since he had contacted Cynthia, the young man was practically bouncing off the walls from excitement and impatience to continue his journey.

The first day or two I hadn't really noticed. But then yesterday, he and Delia came for a 'visit' in which Delia looked about ready to strangle her son herself, and had 'nicely asked' me in private(read threatened to sic her on his records room, a place he had been meaning for twenty or so years to properly clean and organise, and let the clean freak of a Pokemon decide what was and wasn't junk itself, unless he entertained Ash for a while) to let Ash spend some quality time with me and his Pokemon. Probably the worst part of the arrangement was that Ash's bublasaur, usually the peace keeper at my ranch, was just as much of a nuisance as Ash and the rest of his Pokemon now that they were entertaining each other.

It was just as I heard yet another beaker break in one of the labs and Ash's yelled "sorry Professor" for the tenth time today, and I was considering setting my old Dragonite on Ash and his Pokemon that the doorbell rang. I got up and headed to answer it all while quietly muttering to myself "saved be the bell, indeed".

-line break-

Ash Ketchum was bored. He loved being home and getting to see his Mum, the Professor and all of his Pokemon family, but he hated not having anything to do. After six years of constant traveling and adventuring, sitting in one place for days on end held no appeal to him unless it was for gym badges or a tournament. His mom seemed to not be feeling all to well, because she had got him to come up to the Professors lab his third day home. He had been impatient for whatever challenges Cynthia would set but he had resolved to spend as much time with his mom as he could now that he knew she was always missing him so much. It had been years since he had the chance to head to work with his mom and he had missed it in a way.

His mother owned a garden centre on the far side of Pallet town that grew and sold plants and gardening supplies of all shapes, sizes and uses. It all also had a cafe inside the greenhouse style building, surrounded by plants and an artificial waterfall, that his mother loved to practice cooking in, successfully combining his mothers two greatest passions, gardening and cooking. One of his first experiences with Pokemon had been there, when he had seen some of the various smaller grass and bug types that his mother 'overlooked' as long as they didn't cause any trouble and only ate the dead leaves off of plants, helping to keep everything look healthy.

But when he had gotten bored and may have arranged an impromptu war game between the various Pokemon living there, Delia had decided that he must be missing his own Pokemon and graciously told him that she didn't mind if he spent the time while she was at work with them. His mother could be really considerate sometimes.

So for the past two days he and his Pokemon had been training. He had the amazing idea(if he says so himself) to train all his Pokemon so they could use his patent pending counter shield in one form or another. They had all taken to it surprisingly well, all being used to his unorthodox methods, and his Sinnoh team helping with the teaching had certainly sped things up. But then he had a great idea, one of his greatest ever. He told all his Pokemon to spread around the ranch and then he would randomly pop out and order them to use counter shield. This would help them to perfect it and also teach them to be able to use it at a moments notice. He had to admit even he was awed at the spectacle of thirty rampaging Tauros suddenly stopping because of a teenage boy shouting and seemingly break dancing while shooting off ice beam's in all directions. Professor Oak was less than amused when he was caught running outside, protectively clutching his favourite coffee maker and his personal stash of beans screaming "run for the hills, the Articuno are attacking" . The fact that a good portion of the ranch was still thawing didn't help his mood, though Glaile was having the time of his life.

I was just considering whether surprising Muk while he was passing through Oak's kitchen was a good idea when the Professor called me into his study saying that the package from Cynthia had finally arrived.

-line break-

Ash honestly couldn't wait to see what Cynthia had sent. He was sitting on the couch in Oak's study with a thick envelope sitting on the glass table in front of him, while the Professor tinkered with something that had come in a separate package and apparently required him to make some adjustments before Ash could see what it is. He was just about to burst when the Professor finally finished what he was doing, set the now closed box under the table and sat down opposite me.

"Now Ash," he began "I know that your excited and anxious to see Cynthia's requirements but you need to take this very seriously. Whatever they are will undoubtably push you so be prepared." At this he opened the envelope and pulled out a stack of papers. My jaw almost fell off thinking about how much must be on them when he separated the top page from the rest and put the remaining sheets back on the table.

"Now lets see here. The majority of those papers are forms that will need to be filled out concerning your academic and training career as well as some personal details, legal waivers and some reference forms you'll need to get completed, but don't worry, I'll help you sort all that out. What you really want is this sheet here" at this he waved it in front of my face and my head jerked back and forth following it.

"This is a list of all the tasks that you will have to meet and complete in order to qualify to become Cynthia's apprentice. I can tell at just a glance that you'll have one month to complete them and that they will take you all over the regions you've already visited."  
I couldn't help but nervously gulp at that, looks like ill be needing some really fast transport.

He continued " At the end of that month you will be expected to meet with Cynthia at the Sinnoh League main stadium, on Lily of the Valley Island. The tasks that you will have to complete are as follows;

-A minimum of 32 badges from any of the 5 Main Regions

-At least one tournament win, whether it be a minor or major league/ battle frontier

-A recommendation from 3 different regional professors, 2 Regional Champions and 8 Gym leaders from any of the five main regions

-Full academic records showing education of participant, and a minimum maintained grade of 90% over the course of the applicants journey, or an exam provided by a regional professor that is the equivalent.

-Retrieval of any and all Pokemon in the trainers possession, excluding Pokemon that have been traded away/recommendation from a Regional professor to explain exclusion

- Completion of a physical fitness course as put together by Cynthia, with the help of Bruno of the kanto/johto elite four.

- The applicant must acquire a crescent feather personally from Cressalia and present it to the Sinnoh Champion before the final challenge.

- Completion of the Sinnoh Gym Leader Gauntlet. This is an endurance challenge, facing all 8 main gym leaders of the Sinnoh region, one after the other with no break, in 2 on 2 matches, where the challenger may only use 6 Pokemon over the entire challenge. This event will be held as the final requirement for acceptance as an apprentice.

Whew" the professor finally finished, impressed himself at the requirements. He knew that the gauntlet and Cressalia's feather were two traditional requirements that any Sinnoh champion had to give, one of the reasons why their had very rarely been an apprentice to any of the Sinnoh champions. But the recommendations required were steep as well. Every regional professor, as well as every gym leader and elite four member, would have their own task they would likely want completed in return for a recommendation, despite the friendships they may have with Ash.

Ash himself was now very nervous. He had already acquired the needed badges and league wins, though they were minor. And he was incredibly proud of the fact that he had kept an average of 92% while he was traveling. It had been no easy feat, and he was eternally grateful to Brock for helping him, especially because just about when he was entering the first round of the Sinnoh league he had finally finished the 6 years of studying everyone had to do before they could freely travel as a trainer without studying anymore. He would probably keep up his studies, especially as Cynthia would more than likely want him to study something as part of his apprenticeship. But everything else sounded like a real challenge. He would love the opportunity to see all of his old Pokemon again, but they were really spread out and he didn't know where some of them even were.

But what really freaked him out was the last 3. He knew what Bruno was like when it came to fitness and survival, the man was a mountain on legs! He didn't know if he could survive a course even partially designed by him. And he also knew just how hard Cressalia would be to find. He was beyond lucky when he had met her before, and he just hoped he could recreate that feat. The thing that really had him both excited and terrified was the gauntlet. He would facing 8 of the best trainers in all of Sinnoh, while they were using their best, one after the other and they would have 16 Pokemon to use while he would only have 6. He would undoubtably have to be at his very best if he could do it at all. He could understand now why it was so rare for a champion to take an apprentice. For someone to complete the challenges they almost had to already be an elite.

Just as the Professor thought Ash was going to hyperventilate from a mixture of pure excitement of a new challenge and adventure, as well as terror at what he would have to do, and Pikachu was alternating between excitedly sparking his cheeks and curling into a little Pika-ball, he started talking again.

"Well Ash, as you're no doubt aware, this will be extremely difficult to do, especially in one month. But let me just say that I firmly believe that if you put your mind to it your capable of doing this." Ash seemed to perk up a bit at this. " now before we go any farther I want to give you one more chance to back out. No-one will think any less of you if you quit after all you've already accomplished."(Ha! Thought the Professor. That little piece of reverse psychology should get him excited again)

And he didn't have long to wait. At the word 'quit' Ash's head had immediately snapped up. That was something he had never, nor did he ever plan to do. He jumped on his seat, and pumped his fist in the air before loudly proclaiming for the world to hear "Ash Ketchum never quits, no matter how hard the challenge, me and my Pokemon can do it! Isn't that right Pikachu?" At this Pikachu jumped on his shoulder and proclaimed an equally loud "Pi, Pik A chu, Pikapi" while pumping his tiny fist as well.

Oak could only smile at a reaction that was just so Ash.

"Well, now that thats settled, I'll move on to the package that came with this. If you could give me your Pokedex and follow me Ash?" The Professor asked while lifting the box from under the table and heading towards his computer.

Curiously, Ash handed over his Pokedex and followed the Professor where he plugged a cable into his Pokedex. He then proceeded to take another device out of the box that Ash had never seen before. It looked like one of the fore-arm guards his friend samurai used, had been overhauled by a sci-fi movie maker and then had a computer as well as several other things stuck in it. It was very streamlined, a mix between silver and the same red from his original Pokedex and strangely enough it looked like it was tailored for his size. He gave a confused look to the Professor who went on to explain.

"Now Ash, this is a brand new device that I and several other regional Professors and companies have been working on. I don't know how Cynthia got one made for you without me knowing, but these were meant initially to only be released to elites and Champions, as well as a few exceptional gym leaders. Its called the Poketron. It is essentially a Pokedex, laptop computer, poketch, pokemon and item storage system, video phone as well as several other handy functions all in one. And they are genetically locked to one user. They are meant to enable elite trainers to have access to all their Pokemon and a small amount of equipment without constantly being tied to a Pokemon Centre. I don't think they'll ever reach mainstream use like the Pokedex or other devices, their simply to complex and expensive, but their extremely versatile, proofed against water, electricity overloads and any type of weather we could think of, as well as being able to take enough abuse so that they can take everything and much more than you can and even some Pokemon. In short if you lose or break this Ash you had better hope you have somewhere you can hide that I cant find you."

At this and the death glare the Professor was currently giving him Ash stopped trying to drool all over the Poketron and stood up straight again. "Is this really for me Professor? And what do you mean have all my Pokemon with me?"

"Well Ash, your the only person this Poketron will fit once your Pokedex finishes dowloading to it which should be finished... Ah right now" at that the computer made a larger ding! And ejected Ash's Pokedex "And secondly, I know that you have always kept your Pokemon here at my Ranch, but most trainers don't have that privilege. The majority of trainers store their Pokemon, minus the maximum of six they can carry, in the electronic Pokemon storage system run by the league. It does the same as the Pokeball, creating a virtual environment for the Pokemon to exist in, otherwise no-one but someone with a lot of money, or those sponsored by them could own more than six Pokemon. That's the way it used to be when the regions were ruled by Monarchies and Emperors. The Poketron will do the same thing, only the storage unit will be internal on the unit, instead of transporting them to a separate location. Thankfully the genetic lock also means it won't come off your arm unless you want it to and only you can use it, so you don't have to worry about all your Pokemon being stolen. In the case of Champions, where they can forgo completely the six at a time rule if they need to, this device means that in an emergency they could bring every single Pokemon they own to bear at the same time."

"Wow Professor, this is awesome! I can't wait to see Cynthia and thank her for this! Its going to let me keep all my family with me all the time! Wait till I tell everyone."

"Well Ash, before you run off I'll need you to sit down and help with this paperwork" at this Ash adopted a look as if Team Rocket had just stolen Pikachu again, and said Pikachu wisely made a dash for the ranch."But after we've finished you can go and let your Pokemon know the good news and get ready to start your next journey tomorrow."

"And I just know" Ash declared "that its going to be my best one yet!"

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A/N - aaaaaaaaand done. Wow that the longest chapter I've ever written. Hopefully you all enjoy it. I know the last line was a bit cheesy but it works I think. the next few chapters will be Ash completing the tasks, so look forward to that.

I would really appreciate any reviews or PM's they really help motivate me to write, and thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourited or followed this story, your support really helps. Hopefully this chapter meets expectations. Again its un-bata'd so please excuse any mistakes. Also in response to the guest review, that a great idea for a story and I may publish a series of one shots based off the list called 'The Ketchum Files' later, but if anyone else wants to in the mean time feel free. I would just appreciate it if you would tell me so I can read it lol. The Poketron is something that has been done in a similar way before, but its a concept I've had rattling around in my head for years.

Finally I have another story thats a sword art online/highlander crossover, something not done before, so I would really appreciate if you all could have a look and review.

Goodbye until next time and God Bless.


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